GCA wrap: Jared Muraca, Ben Collier star in Geelong West’s first win of 2024-25 season

Muraca capitalised on the Rams’ superb bowling performance from a week earlier, returning to the crease at Myers Reserve on day two of the round 11 contest alongside nightwatchman Ryan Taylor tasked with chasing 149.

Though the Rams fell to 3-28 late on day one, Muraca patiently played his 90 off 200 deliveries, finding the right gaps with 10 fours and a six to get the Rams within three runs of victory before his dismissal.

It was the 26-year-old’s best performance with the bat for the Rams since joining the club in 2020.

“I’ve been working really hard and I think I had an okay year last year and I have just been struggling a little bit, not probably not taking a lot of chances,” Muraca said.

“This week was the perfect position where I could just bat for as long as I wanted and get myself in, and obviously felt quite good the whole time.

“I just tried to stay as patient as possible and just really take the opportunity to make the most of having the time to bat.”

Muraca’s partnerships with Taylor (20 from 57) and Rajasekhar reddy Lankireddy (25 not out) was central to the Rams’ chase, which they reached in 67 overs.

“(Ryan) he bats lower down the order but he’s just as good as our tip order, he just took the opportunity to bat and have a little bit more freedom and took a lot of pressure off me,” Muraca said.

“And Raj, he comes in and just bats so freely, and it made it quite easy, he comes out from ball one and plays his natural game and I think he’s been really good for us this year, he chips in every week for us with the bat.”

Taylor and Lankireddy were also among the Rams’ damaging bowling allegiance on day one, taking two scalps each alongside Alex Buckwell while opening strike bowler Ben Collier starred with 4-49 to knock over the Panthers for a cheap 149.

“It was massive, our bowlers have worked really hard all year especially when they’re going none-stop in, I think the division’s really strong this year, and the bowlers have probably been our strong suit,” Muraca said of the Rams’ attack.

“They’ve been consistent and I think a lot of them got really good reward last week for some pretty hard efforts all year.

“That put us in a really good position to actually be a really good chance of chasing it.”

Muraca praised Collier’s performance this season, the right-hander the team’s leading wicket taker with 12 after crossing to the Rams from East Belmont mid-campaign last summer.

“He, every single week rocks up and bowls consistently the whole time and doesn’t really let anything faze him,” Muraca said.

“He’s been huge for us.”

The Rams will attempt to capitalise on winning momentum in their final three rounds, with two-day fixtures against fourth-placed Bell Park, second Murgheboluc and sixth Leopold.

“Our approach after Christmas was just to come out and stick with what we’ve been working with because we know it’s been the right formula, we’ve probably just haven’t pieced it together,” Muraca said.

“For us we just want to finish the season in a really positive way and whether its with wins or just us being really competitive and staying together as a group, that’s sort of our goal.”

Elsewhere, Leopold’s Ben Horne’s star performance with the ball couldn’t help the Lions across the line against Murgheboluc.

Horne took 7-39 opening the bowling for the Lions as they attempted to defend 117.

But the Frogs, led by Cameron Platt (39), got to 153 before declaring and sending the Lions in for a second innings.

Meanwhile, Torquay hold on for a thrilling 18-run win over Geelong City, as Sharks captain Jack Driver tried to lift his team with his 128-ball 92-run innings, while Lara’s Andy Hughes’ unbeaten 73 saw the ladder-leaders secure a seven-wicket win over Bell Park.

GCA3: Eagles fly up table with big score

Waurn Ponds Deakin has jumped into the GCA3 top four after a crucial two-wicket win over Corio in which the Devils narrowly avoided outright defeat.

The Eagles’ win, coupled with Bannockburn’s one-wicket defeat of Manifold Heights, has lifted the club from sixth to fourth, as they sit equal on 30 points with the fifth-placed Devils with three rounds to go.

After the Eagles, who were promoted to GCA3 this summer, ripped through the Devils’ line-up for 121 on day one, it was Nick Phillips (60 from 61) and Dhanuja Haturusingha (67 from 61) who starred for the victors on day two.

Phillips and Jonathan Thomson (36) resumed with the Eagles on 2-55, eventually crafting a superb 94-run third wicket partnership.

But after 3-0 collapse, it was Haturushingha who stepped up, his quickfire 67 consisting of four fours and six sixes getting his team to 214.

It was then Patrick Smith (18 not out) and Harrison Haynes (40 from 38) who went on for a 62-run late-order partnership before the Eagles declared in the 66th over on 289.

With Corio needing 168 runs to avoid outright defeat, a handy 47 from Ben Strachan and unbeaten 25 from lower order bat Daniel Stock was enough to get to 8-138 and see out the 38 overs.

Anthony Grace was the pick of Corio’s bowlers on day two, with 6-94 from 25 overs.

Meanwhile, an unbeaten 72 from Bailey Forssman saw Alexander Thomson draw level on points with second-place Marshall following its four-wicket win over the Bears, while competition leaders Thomson escaped with a seven run win over bottom-side Modewarre.

GCA4: Rosellas, Guild play out thriller

A hard-hitting 80 off 68 from Tom Saunders wasn’t enough to see Lethbridge over the line against Guild St. Mary’s in GCA4.

The Rosellas gave up fourth on the ladder to Guild following the nailbiting six-run defeat, running out of time to reel in the latter’s total of 233 in a high-quality match at Frier Reserve.

Saunders starred with eight boundaries and a six to see his side to 195 before his dismissal, but it was the Rosellas’ overall run rate (5.04) which just fell shy of their rivals (5.18).

With Lethbridge needing 15 off the last over, the Rosellas could only manage half to stop short at 8-227.

Guild St Mary’s’ Shivam Gupta starred with an all-round performance, making 51 from 43 - his half century brought up by a six - and taking 3-16 with the ball.

Meanwhile, Meredith needed just 33 balls to chase down St Albans Breakwater’s lowly 81 on Saturday.

The Rams destroyed the Saints’ lower-order, with no batter coming in from fourth onwards making more than four runs.

Opener Daniel Robinson’s 43 gave the innings some semblance of structure, but the Rams’ attack, led by Jason Murray (4-11) and Chesney Milne (3-17) needed just 19 overs to dismiss the line-up.

A rapid-fire half century from Harli Givvens (56 from 20 including three sixes) saw the Rams quickly zero in on the target, getting there midway through the fifth over.

Givvens leads the division for runs, with 513 at 46.64.

Newcomb & District captain Eugene Stanciu’s unbeaten 75 from 61 also saw the Dinos to a big nine-wicket win over Teesdale after earlier rolling the Roos for just 122.

Originally published as GCA wrap: Jared Muraca, Ben Collier star in Geelong West’s first win of 2024-25 season